Generating customized electronic messaging graphics

ABSTRACT

A system according to various exemplary embodiments includes a processor and a user interface coupled to the processor, the user interface comprising an input device and a display screen. The system further comprises a sensor component coupled to the processor, the sensor component comprising a location sensor for determining location information associated with the system, and memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising: retrieving sensor information from the sensor component, the sensor information including location information from the location sensor; retrieving, from the memory, avatar information associated with a user of the system; generating a customized graphic based on the sensor information and the user&#39;s avatar information; and presenting the customized graphic within an electronic message via the display screen of the user interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/364,190, filed Jul. 19, 2016 and entitled “CUSTOMIZED ELECTRONICMESSAGING GRAPHICS,” the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The popularity of electronic messaging, particularly instant messaging,continues to grow. Users increasingly use “emoji” (which are ideogramsand icons) within electronic messages such as texts and emails,reflecting a global demand to communicate more visually. However,conventional emoji and similar graphics are typically generic andlacking in diversity: every individual user is represented by the sameset of faces, irrespective of appearance, gender or ethnicity.Furthermore, every conversation that uses conventional emoji looksidentical, and there is no visual personality or cue to identify theparticipants or distinguish one interaction from the next. Embodimentsof the present disclosure address these and other issues.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and notlimitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding amessaging system, according to exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data which may be stored inthe database of the messaging server system, according to variousexemplary embodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are exemplary flow diagrams of processes according tovarious aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5F are screenshots illustrating the steps of the methodsdescribed in FIGS. 4A-4B.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine,according to some exemplary embodiments, able to read instructions froma machine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and computing machine program products thatembody illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide an understanding of variousembodiments of the inventive subject matter. It will be evident,however, to those skilled in the art, that embodiments of the inventivesubject matter may be practiced without these specific details. Ingeneral, well-known instruction instances, protocols, structures, andtechniques are not necessarily shown in detail.

Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure improve thefunctionality of electronic messaging software and systems by generatingand displaying customized graphics within electronic messages. Thecustom graphic may be generated based on a user identifier and one ormore scene identifiers. For example, a user may input one or moreconventional emoji, text, and other input within an electronic message(such as an SMS text or email) and the system will generate the customgraphic within the electronic message, replacing the input. Thecustomized image may be sized based on the position of the input withinthe message, allowing smaller or larger images to automatically begenerated and presented to the user.

In some embodiments, customized graphics may be generated and presentedwithin an electronic message based on sensor information retrieved fromthe sensor component(s) of a mobile device, such as locationinformation, motion information, light levels, temperature, and thelike. The customized graphic may also be generated based on informationregarding a user retrieved from a social network, and/or informationregarding the user's mood. The customized graphics can be generatedusing such information along with a personalized avatar for the user (aswell as the user's friends). For example, the system may determine fromcalendar information and geolocation information that the user isenjoying a birthday celebration with two of the user's friends at anItalian restaurant, and generate a graphic showing smiling avatars ofthe three friends sharing an oversized bowl of pasta. In anotherexample, the system may determine from a user's previous electronicmessages and social media posts that the user is currently at home withthe flu, and generate a custom graphic showing an unhappy avatar of theuser laying in bed with a box of tissues and a thermometer in his/hermouth. In this context, an “avatar” may include any image resembling (orotherwise associated with) the user. Among other things, usinguser-associated avatars by the embodiments of the present disclosureprovide a level of personalization to electronic messages that is simplynot possible with conventional UNICODE emoji or other standardcharacters.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple client devices 102, each ofwhich hosts a number of applications including a messaging clientapplication 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet). As used herein, the term “client device” may referto any machine that interfaces to a communications network (such asnetwork 106) to obtain resources from one or more server systems orother client devices. A client device may be, but is not limited to, amobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digital assistants(PDAs), smart phones, tablets, ultra books, netbooks, laptops,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any other communicationdevice that a user may use to access a network.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, each messaging client application 104 isable to communicate and exchange data with another messaging clientapplication 104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network106. The data exchanged between messaging client applications 104, andbetween a messaging client application 104 and the messaging serversystem 108, includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) aswell as payload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimediadata).

The network 106 may include, or operate in conjunction with, an ad hocnetwork, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), alocal area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network(WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), theInternet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS) network,a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network,another type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks.For example, a network or a portion of a network may include a wirelessor cellular network and the coupling may be a Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobile communications(GSM) connection, or other type of cellular or wireless coupling. Inthis example, the coupling may implement any of a variety of types ofdata transfer technology, such as Single Carrier Radio TransmissionTechnology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) technology, GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE) technology, third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G) networks, Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long TermEvolution (LTE) standard, others defined by various standard settingorganizations, other long range protocols, or other data transfertechnology.

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed by either a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, it will be appreciated that the location ofcertain functionality either within the messaging client application 104or the messaging server system 108 is a design choice. For example, itmay be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology andfunctionality within the messaging server system 108, but to latermigrate this technology and functionality to the messaging clientapplication 104 where a client device 102 has a sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Thisdata may include, message content, client device information,geolocation information, media annotation and overlays, message contentpersistence conditions, social network information, and live eventinformation, as examples. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100are invoked and controlled through functions available via userinterfaces (UIs) of the messaging client application 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

Dealing specifically with the Application Program Interface (API) server110, this server receives and transmits message data (e.g., commands andmessage payloads) between the client device 102 and the applicationserver 112. Specifically, the Application Program Interface (API) server110 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that canbe called or queried by the messaging client application 104 in order toinvoke functionality of the application server 112. The ApplicationProgram Interface (API) server 110 exposes various functions supportedby the application server 112, including account registration, loginfunctionality, the sending of messages, via the application server 112,from a particular messaging client application 104 to another messagingclient application 104, the sending of media files (e.g., images orvideo) from a messaging client application 104 to the messaging serverapplication 114, and for possible access by another messaging clientapplication 104, the setting of a collection of media data (e.g.,story), the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a client device102, the retrieval of such collections, the retrieval of messages andcontent, the adding and deletion of friends to a social graph, thelocation of friends within a social graph, opening and application event(e.g., relating to the messaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including a messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116 and a social network system 122. The messagingserver application 114 implements a number of message processingtechnologies and functions, particularly related to the aggregation andother processing of content (e.g., textual and multimedia contentincluding images and video clips) included in messages received frommultiple instances of the messaging client application 104. As will bedescribed in further detail, the text and media content from multiplesources may be aggregated into collections of content (e.g., calledstories or galleries). These collections are then made available, by themessaging server application 114, to the messaging client application104. Other processor and memory intensive processing of data may also beperformed server-side by the messaging server application 114, in viewof the hardware requirements for such processing.

The application server 112 also includes an image processing system 116that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video received within the payload ofa message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions services, and makes these functions and services available tothe messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph 304 within thedatabase 120. Examples of functions and services supported by the socialnetwork system 122 include the identification of other users of themessaging system 100 with which a particular user has relationships oris “following”, and also the identification of other entities andinterests of a particular user.

The application server 112 is communicatively coupled to a databaseserver 118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which isstored data associated with messages processed by the messaging serverapplication 114.

Some embodiments may include one or more wearable devices, such as apendant with an integrated camera that is integrated with, incommunication with, or coupled to, a client device 102. Any desiredwearable device may be used in conjunction with the embodiments of thepresent disclosure, such as a watch, eyeglasses, goggles, a headset, awristband, earbuds, clothing (such as a hat or jacket with integratedelectronics), a clip-on electronic device, and/or any other wearabledevices.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to exemplary embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of some subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204 and an annotation system 206.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary access to content permitted by the messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server application 114. To this end,the ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that,based on duration and display parameters associated with a message, orcollection of messages (e.g., a SNAPCHAT story), selectively display andenable access to messages and associated content via the messagingclient application 104.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managingcollections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video and audiodata). In some examples, a collection of content (e.g., messages,including images, video, text and audio) may be organized into an “eventgallery” or an “event story.” Such a collection may be made availablefor a specified time period, such as the duration of an event to whichthe content relates. For example, content relating to a music concertmay be made available as a “story” for the duration of that musicconcert. The collection management system 204 may also be responsiblefor publishing an icon that provides notification of the existence of aparticular collection to the user interface of the messaging clientapplication 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 208 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface208 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certainembodiments, compensation may be paid to a user for inclusion of usergenerated content into a collection. In such cases, the curationinterface 208 operates to automatically make payments to such users forthe use of their content.

The annotation system 206 provides various functions that enable a userto annotate or otherwise modify or edit media content associated with amessage. For example, the annotation system 206 provides functionsrelated to the generation and publishing of media overlays for messagesprocessed by the messaging system 100. The annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay (e.g., a SNAPCHAT filter) to themessaging client application 104 based on a geolocation of the clientdevice 102. In another example, the annotation system 206 operativelysupplies a media overlay to the messaging client application 104 basedon other information, such as, social network information of the user ofthe client device 102. A media overlay may include audio and visualcontent and visual effects. Examples of audio and visual content includepictures, texts, logos, animations, and sound effects. An example of avisual effect includes color overlaying. The audio and visual content orthe visual effects can be applied to a media content item (e.g., aphoto) at the client device 102. For example, the media overlayincluding text that can be overlaid on top of a photograph generatedtaken by the client device 102. In another example, the media overlayincludes an identification of a location overlay (e.g., Venice beach), aname of a live event, or a name of a merchant overlay (e.g., BeachCoffee House). In another example, the annotation system 206 uses thegeolocation of the client device 102 to identify a media overlay thatincludes the name of a merchant at the geolocation of the client device102. The media overlay may include other indicia associated with themerchant. The media overlays may be stored in the database 120 andaccessed through the database server 118.

In one exemplary embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides auser-based publication platform that enables users to select ageolocation on a map, and upload content associated with the selectedgeolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which aparticular media overlay should be offered to other users. Theannotation system 206 generates a media overlay that includes theuploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selectedgeolocation.

In another exemplary embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides amerchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select aparticular media overlay associated with a geolocation via a biddingprocess. For example, the annotation system 206 associates the mediaoverlay of a highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocationfor a predefined amount of time

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram 300 illustrating data 300 which may bestored in the database 120 of the messaging server system 108, accordingto certain exemplary embodiments. While the content of the database 120is shown to comprise a number of tables, it will be appreciated that thedata could be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as anobject-oriented database).

The database 120 includes message data stored within a message table314. The entity table 302 stores entity data, including an entity graph304. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table302 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects,places, events etc. Regardless of type, any entity regarding which themessaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Eachentity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity typeidentifier (not shown).

The entity graph 304 furthermore stores information regardingrelationships and associations between entities. Such relationships maybe social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation ororganization) interested-based or activity-based, merely for example.

The database 120 also stores annotation data, in the example form offilters, in an annotation table 312. Filters for which data is storedwithin the annotation table 312 are associated with and applied tovideos (for which data is stored in a video table 310) and/or images(for which data is stored in an image table 308). Filters, in oneexample, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid on an image orvideo during presentation to a recipient user. Filters may be of variestypes, including a user-selected filters from a gallery of filterspresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104 whenthe sending user is composing a message. Other types of filers includegeolocation filters (also known as geo-filters) which may be presentedto a sending user based on geographic location. For example, geolocationfilters specific to a neighborhood or special location may be presentedwithin a user interface by the messaging client application 104, basedon geolocation information determined by a GPS unit of the client device102. Another type of filer is a data filer, which may be selectivelypresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104,based on other inputs or information gathered by the client device 102during the message creation process. Example of data filters includecurrent temperature at a specific location, a current speed at which asending user is traveling, battery life for a client device 102 or thecurrent time.

Other annotation data that may be stored within the image table 308 isso-called “lens” data. A “lens” may be a real-time special effect andsound that may be added to an image or a video.

As mentioned above, the video table 310 stores video data which, in oneembodiment, is associated with messages for which records are maintainedwithin the message table 314. Similarly, the image table 308 storesimage data associated with messages for which message data is stored inthe entity table 302. The entity table 302 may associate variousannotations from the annotation table 312 with various images and videosstored in the image table 308 and the video table 310.

A story table 306 stores data regarding collections of messages andassociated image, video or audio data, which are compiled into acollection (e.g., a SNAPCHAT story or a gallery). The creation of aparticular collection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., eachuser for which a record is maintained in the entity table 302). A usermay create a “personal story” in the form of a collection of contentthat has been created and sent/broadcast by that user. To this end, theuser interface of the messaging client application 104 may include anicon that is user selectable to enable a sending user to add specificcontent to his or her personal story.

A collection may also constitute a “live story,” which is a collectionof content from multiple users that is created manually, automaticallyor using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example,a “live story” may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted contentfrom varies locations and events. Users, whose client devices havelocation services enabled and are at a common location event at aparticular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via auser interface of the messaging client application 104, to contributecontent to a particular live story. The live story may be identified tothe user by the messaging client application 104, based on his or herlocation. The end result is a “live story” told from a communityperspective.

A further type of content collection is known as a “location story”,which enables a user whose client device 102 is located within aspecific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus)to contribute to a particular collection. In some embodiments, acontribution to a location story may require a second degree ofauthentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specificorganization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the universitycampus).

Embodiments of the present disclosure may generate and presentcustomized images for use within electronic messages such as SMS or MMStexts and emails. The customized images may also be utilized inconjunction with the SNAPCHAT stories, SNAPCHAT filters, and ephemeralmessaging functionality discussed herein.

FIG. 4A depicts an exemplary process according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure. In this example, method 400 includes receivingcontent for an electronic message (405), retrieving a user identifier(410), generating a customized graphic based on the electronic messagecontent and the user identifier (415), presenting the customized graphic(420), and transmitting an electronic message containing the customizedgraphic (425). The steps of method 400 may be performed in whole or inpart, may be performed in conjunction with some or all of the steps inother methods (such as method 430 in FIG. 4B), and may be performed byany number of different systems, such as the systems described in FIGS.1 and/or 7.

In some embodiments, customized graphics may be generated to replace orsupplement emoji characters/icons defined by the UNICODE standard. Forexample, referring to FIG. 5A, a scene identifier 510 (the emojicharacter) is retrieved (405) in conjunction with retrieving (410) auser identifier (“jacob”) 505 based on content for an electronic messageentered by a user (e.g., via an input device). Based on the useridentifier 505 and the scene identifier 510, the system generates (415)a custom graphic 515. In this example, the custom graphic 515 is apersonalized avatar of the user mimicking the winking, tongue-extendedemoji in the scene identifier 510. As used herein, an “electronicmessage” may refer to any message in electronic form, such as an email,a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia message service(MMS) message, an instant message (IM), Internet Relay Chat (IRC)messages, as well as any other form of real-time, near-real-time,synchronous, or asynchronous electronic messaging format.

In some embodiments, the custom graphic 515 is pre-generated andpresented (425) in a menu of graphics, such as shown at the bottom ofthe screenshot 580 in FIG. 5F. Additionally or alternatively, the customgraphic 515 can be generated (415) in real-time or near-real time inresponse to a user's input in an electronic message. For example, theuser's input of UNICODE characters (such as emoji) and/or text can beused to generate a custom graphic that replaces the user's input withinthe text message. For example, referring to FIG. 5B, the system mayretrieve (405), from the user's input into an electronic message, asmiling face emoji scene identifier 515, automatically retrieve a useridentifier (410) stored in the device the user is using to input themessage, and generate (415) the customized graphic of the user's avatarsmiling 520, which may be presented in the electronic message instead ofthe original generic UNICODE character 515, thus replacing the user'soriginal input.

Embodiments of the disclosure may retrieve (405) multiple sceneidentifiers. For example, referring to FIG. 5C, a user may enter asinput into an electronic message two scene identifiers, a winking emoji525 and flying money 530, which is used (in conjunction with the user'sretrieved user identifier) to generate (415) a custom graphic of theuser's avatar winking while throwing money.

In addition to retrieving UNICODE characters (such as emoji) as sceneidentifiers, embodiments of the present disclosure may retrieve andanalyze text, other images and video to identify a scene identifier. Forexample, in FIG. 5D, the user enters a surprised emoji 540 and the word“tank” 545, which the system uses to generate a customized graphic ofthe user's avatar sitting on a tank 550. In other embodiments, the usercould insert an image or video of a tank in place of the word “tank,”and the system can perform an image recognition analysis of the input toidentify the tank and generate the customized graphic 550.

The user identifier may be retrieved (410) from input within theelectronic message. For example, the user could input, via the userinterface of the user's computing device, his or her name to generate acustomized image based on the user's own avatar, as well as text, animage, or video of another individual (e.g., the user's friend) togenerate a customized image using the user's friend's avatar.Additionally or alternatively, the user identifier may be retrieved(410) based on information stored within the user's computing device.Any such identifier may be used, such as the user's full name or ausername associated with the user. The user identifier may also be anidentifier associated with the user's computing device, such as a UniqueDevice Identifier (UDID) or Identifier for Advertising (IDFA).

Embodiments of the present disclosure may generate (415) the customizedgraphic according to any other desired criteria, such as the graphic'sposition in the electronic message. Likewise, presentation (420) of acustomized graphic may be based on its size. Referring now to FIG. 5E, acustomized graphic that is presented by itself (such as graphic 555) maybe displayed relatively larger than a customized graphic that ispresented inline as the same size as surrounding text (such as graphic560) or a graphic presented at the beginning or end of a line of text(such as graphic 565). In some embodiments, the custom graphic may alsobe displayed as a full image (such as graphic 570). Sizing of acustomized graphic may be determined automatically by the system, basedon user input, or a combination of the two.

Referring again to FIG. 4A, the electronic message containing thecustomized graphic may be transmitted (425) over the Internet fordistribution to one or more recipients. A computer system performing thefunctionality method 400 may communicate with any number of othersystems and devices, including a server. Such communication may beperformed using a variety of different communication protocols andcommunication mediums, including those described above with reference tonetwork 106. In some embodiments, for example, communication with theserver may include transmitting an image modified with activity data toa server. In the exemplary system 700 shown in FIG. 7, suchcommunication may be effected using communication module 740.

The electronic message may also be transmitted (425) directly to anotheruser's device, or via another form of network other than the Internet.Additionally, the electronic message, the customized graphic, or bothmay be presented to the user and/or a recipient for a predeterminedperiod of time, as discussed in more detail above with reference toephemeral messages.

Customized graphics may be generated based on a variety of differentinformation and used in a variety of different applications. FIG. 4Bdepicts another exemplary process according to various aspects of thedisclosure. In this example, method 430 includes retrieving sensorinformation from a sensor component coupled to a computer system (435),retrieving avatar information associated with a user of the computersystem (440), retrieving information regarding the user (445),identifying a mood of the user based on the retrieved user information(450), receiving information for a contact of the user (455), andgenerating a customized graphic (460). Method 430 further includespresenting the customized graphic (465), receiving an edit to thecustomized graphic (470), and modifying the customized graphic based onthe received edits (475). Method 430 also includes receiving a selectionof the customized graphic (480), generating (485) and presenting (490) acustomized response image based on the selection, and transmitting thecustomized response image (495).

In various embodiments, a customized graphic may be generated (460)based on data collected from a variety of sensor components, including(for example) the biometric components 730, motion components 734,environmental components 736, and/or position components 738 describedbelow with reference to FIG. 7, as well as other sensor components. Inone exemplary embodiment, the sensor component includes a biometriccomponent for detecting a facial expression of the user of a computingdevice, and wherein generating the customized graphic (460) includesidentifying a mood of the user (450) based on the expression (e.g.,happy, sad, excited, etc.) and generating the graphic (e.g., theexpression on the face of the user's avatar) based on the identifiedmood. Such sensor components may be integrated with, or locally coupledto, the computing device used by a user to prepare an electronicmessage. Additionally or alternatively, such sensor components may beaccessed remotely by the computing device over a network (e.g., theInternet).

The system may retrieve avatar information (440) associated with theuser of a computing device, contacts of the user, or other individuals.As introduced above, the avatar of a user or individual may be any imageresembling or otherwise associated with the user or individual. Inaddition to images, the retrieved avatar information may include anydesired characteristics of the user, such as the user's age, height,weight, interests, preferences (e.g., for clothing), and suchcharacteristics may be used in generating or modifying avatar images ofthe user/individual. In various embodiments, the avatar information mayinclude any number of different images associated with the user, andgenerating (460) the customized graphic may including at least a portionof such images within the customized graphic. For example, the user'savatar information (e.g., images of the user's face from differentangles and having different expressions) may be used to generate customimages, such as the user riding a tank (FIG. 5E) or kicking a soccerball (FIG. 5F).

In addition to detecting a user's mood via a biometric component (asdescribed above), the system may identify a user's mood (450) based oninformation regarding the user that can be retrieved (445) from avariety of sources. Any such information may be retrieved from anydesired source, such as a social network entry by the user, a microblogentry by the user, an electronic communication by the user, or othersource.

For example, the system may identify such entries over the Internet andperform a keyword search on such entries to identify words indicatingthe user's mood, such as “sad,” “upset,” “happy,” and the like.Likewise, the system may perform an image recognition analysis of photosposted by the user (e.g., on the user's social network page) andidentify facial expressions in a manner similar to the facialrecognition analysis used based on the biometric component discussedabove. Based on such entries, the system may generate the customizedgraphic (460) to reflect the user's mood, such as by showing the user'savatar in a graphic frowning in response to determining the user is sador upset, or showing the user's avatar in a graphic smiling or laughingin response to determining the user is happy or excited. The system may,additionally or alternatively, determine a user's mood based on directinput from the user himself/herself. For example, the user may enterinput (e.g., via the input device of the user interface on the user'scomputing device) to select the user's mood. Such input may take avariety of forms, such as a text description of the user's mood, and/ora graphic the user selects to indicate his/her mood (e.g., a happy faceto indicate the user is happy).

In addition to information pertaining to the user of the computer systemperforming functionality associated with the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the system may further retrieve or receive informationregarding the user's contacts (455) for use in generating (460)customized graphics. In one exemplary embodiment, a contact of a user isidentified as being associated with an electronic message (e.g., as thesender or recipient) and information regarding the contact is retrieved(455) by the system. Such information may be retrieved from thecomputing device itself (e.g., from an electronic address book) as wellas from external sources, such as a social network page associated withthe contact (or containing information about the contact—such as fromthe user's social network page) or the contact's computing device. Insome cases, the contact's information may include the contact's ownpersonalized avatar information (e.g., images and characteristicsassociated with the contact) upon which the system can generate thecustomized graphic (460) to include a customized avatar image for thecontact based on the contact's avatar information. The contact'scustomized avatar image may be presented (465) to the user as part ofthe customized graphic and in conjunction with an electronic message.The customized graphic may further be generated (460) based on thecontent of the electronic message itself. For example, if a user and acontact are engaged in an instant message discussion regarding mountainclimbing together, the system could automatically retrieve avatarinformation for the user (440) and the contact (455) and generate acustomized graphic depicting the user and the contact mountain climbingtogether for insertion into the electronic message. In this manner,embodiments of the present disclosure can greatly improve thefunctionality of electronic messaging systems by providing dynamic,customized visual content that the user can share with his or hercontacts.

The system may also generate the customized graphic (460) based on otherinformation, such as the current time of day, the current date, andevent associated with the user or the user's contacts stored in theuser's electronic calendar. For example, the system may determine, basedon a calendar entry in the user's smartphone or other computing deviceand geolocation information for the computing device, that the user iscurrently at a birthday party for one of the user's contacts, andgenerate a customized image depicting avatars of the user and the user'scontact with a birthday cake.

The customized graphic may be presented (465) in a variety of differentways, such as within an electronic message. In some embodiments,referring again to FIG. 5E, the graphic may be displayed alone (images555 and 570), or in conjunction with text and/or other images (images560 and 565). In some embodiments, some or all of the customized graphicmay be selectable by the user, such as in a hypertext transfer protocol(HTTP) link to content on the Internet, or to initiate a softwareapplication of functionality thereof. The customized graphic may also bepresented (465) as a selectable icon or link (as discussed below) aswell as in conjunction with a media overlay (e.g., a SNAPCHAT filter)and/or or collection of electronic messages (e.g., a SNAPCHAT story).Menus of customized graphics may be presented for selection andinclusion in an electronic message, as shown in the example depicted inFIG. 5G.

The customized graphic may also be presented (465) for a predeterminedperiod of time as discussed in more detail above with reference toephemeral messages.

In one exemplary embodiment, the customized graphic includes acustomized avatar of the user or a contact of the user, and the graphicis selectable by the user. In response to receiving a selection (480) ofthe customized graphic by the user, the system generates a customizedresponse image (485) based on the current mood of user or the user'scontact and presents (490) the response image to the user via thedisplay screen of the user's computing device. The user may furtherselect the customized response image to transmit the response image tothe contact.

In a particular example of the response image, consider an avatar of theuser's contact that it is presented next to the contact's name in theuser's address book. The contact's avatar may be dynamically updated toindicate the contact's mood throughout the day. Selecting the avatarimage of the user's contact may present information underlying thecontact's mood (e.g., “Bob failed his test today” if Bob's avatarappears sad, or “Bob took first place in his race today” if Bob's avatarappears happy). Based on the mood of the contact and/or the underlyinginformation associated with the mood, the system can generate one ormore customized response images the user can send to the contact'scomputing device (alone or in conjunction with an electronic message) byselecting the contact's avatar. For example, the system may generate ageneralized “cheer up” response image or a more specific “sorry aboutthe test” response image in response to the first scenario above.Alternatively, the system may generate a generalized “congratulations!”response image or a more specific “congratulations on winning the race!”response image. The response image either may include one or more of theuser's avatar image and the contact's avatar image. In some embodiments,a selection of possible response images may be generated and presentedto the user, thus allowing the user to select the response image(s) theuser feels is most appropriate to give the contact. The response imagemay be transmitted to the contact's computing device in any desiredmanner, such as directly to the contact's computing device over theInternet or to a server that reroutes the image to the contact. In thismanner, embodiments of the present disclosure enhance the interactionbetween the user and his/her contacts and provide opportunities fordiscussion and interaction compared to traditional systems.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may generate (460) and present(465) custom graphics to the user, and receive edits (470) and modify(475) the customized graphic. For example, a customized graphic may begenerated and displayed in a menu (as shown in FIG. 5G) of graphics forselection by the user. A user may use the input device of the userinterface on the user's computing device to select a customized graphicand apply an edit, such as adding/removing text as well as makinggraphical edits. Graphical edits may include, for example, adding orremoving features from the user's avatar (e.g., adding/removing a hat ormustache to the user's avatar), changing the size or shape of the image,applying graphic effects to the image (shading, stretching, tone, etc.),as well as other edits. The original customized graphic may bepermanently modified (475) based on the user input, or saved as adifferent image for later retrieval by the user.

Software Architecture

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture606, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 6 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 606 may execute on hardwaresuch as machine 700 of FIG. 7 that includes, among other things,processors 704, memory 714, and I/O components 718. A representativehardware layer 652 is illustrated and can represent, for example, themachine 700 of FIG. 7. The representative hardware layer 652 includes aprocessing unit 654 having associated executable instructions 604.Executable instructions 604 represent the executable instructions of thesoftware architecture 606, including implementation of the methods,components and so forth described herein. The hardware layer 652 alsoincludes memory and/or storage modules memory/storage 656, which alsohave executable instructions 604. The hardware layer 652 may alsocomprise other hardware 658.

As used herein, the term “component” may refer to a device, physicalentity or logic having boundaries defined by function or subroutinecalls, branch points, application program interfaces (APIs), and/orother technologies that provide for the partitioning or modularizationof particular processing or control functions. Components may becombined via their interfaces with other components to carry out amachine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardware unitdesigned for use with other components and a part of a program thatusually performs a particular function of related functions.

Components may constitute either software components (e.g., codeembodied on a machine-readable medium) or hardware components. A“hardware component” is a tangible unit capable of performing certainoperations and may be configured or arranged in a certain physicalmanner. In various exemplary embodiments, one or more computer systems(e.g., a standalone computer system, a client computer system, or aserver computer system) or one or more hardware components of a computersystem (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured bysoftware (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardwarecomponent that operates to perform certain operations as describedherein. A hardware component may also be implemented mechanically,electronically, or any suitable combination thereof. For example, ahardware component may include dedicated circuitry or logic that ispermanently configured to perform certain operations.

A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor, such as aField-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may also includeprogrammable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured bysoftware to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations.

A processor may be, or in include, any circuit or virtual circuit (aphysical circuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor)that manipulates data values according to control signals (e.g.,“commands”, “op codes”, “machine code”, etc.) and which producescorresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine. Aprocessor may, for example, be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), aReduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit(GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC)or any combination thereof. A processor may further be a multi-coreprocessor having two or more independent processors (sometimes referredto as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously.

Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component” (or “hardware-implementedcomponent”) should be understood to encompass a tangible entity, be thatan entity that is physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g.,hardwired), or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in acertain manner or to perform certain operations described herein.Considering embodiments in which hardware components are temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed), each of the hardware components need notbe configured or instantiated at any one instance in time. For example,where a hardware component comprises a general-purpose processorconfigured by software to become a special-purpose processor, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respectively differentspecial-purpose processors (e.g., comprising different hardwarecomponents) at different times. Software accordingly configures aparticular processor or processors, for example, to constitute aparticular hardware component at one instance of time and to constitutea different hardware component at a different instance of time. Hardwarecomponents can provide information to, and receive information from,other hardware components. Accordingly, the described hardwarecomponents may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Wheremultiple hardware components exist contemporaneously, communications maybe achieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) between or among two or more of the hardware components. Inembodiments in which multiple hardware components are configured orinstantiated at different times, communications between such hardwarecomponents may be achieved, for example, through the storage andretrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiplehardware components have access.

For example, one hardware component may perform an operation and storethe output of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component”refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components.

Moreover, the one or more processors may also operate to supportperformance of the relevant operations in a “cloud computing”environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS). For example, atleast some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers(as examples of machines including processors), with these operationsbeing accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or moreappropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application Program Interface (API)).The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployedacross a number of machines. In some exemplary embodiments, theprocessors or processor-implemented components may be located in asingle geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, an officeenvironment, or a server farm). In other exemplary embodiments, theprocessors or processor-implemented components may be distributed acrossa number of geographic locations.

In the exemplary architecture of FIG. 6, the software architecture 606may be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 606 mayinclude layers such as an operating system 602, libraries 620,applications 616 and a presentation layer 614. Operationally, theapplications 616 and/or other components within the layers may invokeapplication programming interface (API) API calls 608 through thesoftware stack and receive messages 612 in response to the API calls608. The layers illustrated are representative in nature and not allsoftware architectures have all layers. For example, some mobile orspecial purpose operating systems may not provide aframeworks/middleware 618, while others may provide such a layer. Othersoftware architectures may include additional or different layers.

The operating system 602 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 602 may include, for example, akernel 622, services 624 and drivers 626. The kernel 622 may act as anabstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 622 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 624 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 626 areresponsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware.For instance, the drivers 626 include display drivers, camera drivers,Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communication drivers(e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers, audiodrivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 620 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 616 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries620 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than to interface directly with theunderlying operating system 602 functionality (e.g., kernel 622,services 624 and/or drivers 626). The libraries 620 may include systemlibraries 644 (e.g., C standard library) that may provide functions suchas memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions,mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, the libraries 620 mayinclude API libraries 646 such as media libraries (e.g., libraries tosupport presentation and manipulation of various media format such asMPREG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphics libraries (e.g., anOpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and 3D in a graphiccontent on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLite that may providevarious relational database functions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit thatmay provide web browsing functionality), and the like. The libraries 620may also include a wide variety of other libraries 648 to provide manyother APIs to the applications 616 and other softwarecomponents/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 618 (also sometimes referred to as middleware)provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may be used by theapplications 616 and/or other software components/modules. For example,the frameworks/middleware 618 may provide various graphic user interface(GUI) functions, high-level resource management, high-level locationservices, and so forth. The frameworks/middleware 618 may provide abroad spectrum of other APIs that may be utilized by the applications616 and/or other software components/modules, some of which may bespecific to a particular operating system 602 or platform.

The applications 616 include built-in applications 638 and/orthird-party applications 640. Examples of representative built-inapplications 638 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. Third-party applications 640 may include anapplication developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 640 may invoke the API calls 608 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as operating system 602) to facilitatefunctionality described herein.

The applications 616 may use built in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 622, services 624 and/or drivers 626), libraries 620, andframeworks/middleware 618 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systemsinteractions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such aspresentation layer 614. In these systems, the application/component“logic” can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components (also referred toherein as “modules”) of a machine 700, according to some exemplaryembodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable medium(e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 7 shows adiagrammatic representation of the machine 700 in the example form of acomputer system, within which instructions 710 (e.g., software, aprogram, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code)for causing the machine 700 to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such, theinstructions 710 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 710 transform the general,non-programmed machine 700 into a particular machine 700 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 700 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 700 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 700 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 710, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by machine 700. Further, while only a single machine 700 isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include acollection of machines that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 710 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 700 may include processors 704, memory memory/storage 706,and I/O components 718, which may be configured to communicate with eachother such as via a bus 702. The memory/storage 706 may include a memory714, such as a main memory, or other memory storage, and a storage unit716, both accessible to the processors 704 such as via the bus 702. Thestorage unit 716 and memory 714 store the instructions 710 embodying anyone or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 710 may also reside, completely or partially, within thememory 714, within the storage unit 716, within at least one of theprocessors 704 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine700. Accordingly, the memory 714, the storage unit 716, and the memoryof processors 704 are examples of machine-readable media.

As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium,” “computer-readablemedium,” or the like may refer to any component, device or othertangible media able to store instructions and data temporarily orpermanently. Examples of such media may include, but is not limited to,random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flashmemory, optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types ofstorage (e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and/orany suitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” may alsobe taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media, thatis capable of storing instructions (e.g., code) for execution by amachine, such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine, cause the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readablemedium” may refer to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as“cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiplestorage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium”excludes signals per se.

The I/O components 718 may include a wide variety of components toprovide a user interface for receiving input, providing output,producing output, transmitting information, exchanging information,capturing measurements, and so on. The specific I/O components 718 thatare included in the user interface of a particular machine 700 willdepend on the type of machine. For example, portable machines such asmobile phones will likely include a touch input device or other suchinput mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely notinclude such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/Ocomponents 718 may include many other components that are not shown inFIG. 7. The I/O components 718 are grouped according to functionalitymerely for simplifying the following discussion and the grouping is inno way limiting. In various exemplary embodiments, the I/O components718 may include output components 726 and input components 728. Theoutput components 726 may include visual components (e.g., a displaysuch as a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED)display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode raytube (CRT)), acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components(e.g., a vibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signalgenerators, and so forth. The input components 728 may includealphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screenconfigured to receive alphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, orother alphanumeric input components), point based input components(e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, orother pointing instrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physicalbutton, a touch screen that provides location and/or force of touches ortouch gestures, or other tactile input components), audio inputcomponents (e.g., a microphone), and the like. The input components 728may also include one or more image-capturing devices, such as a digitalcamera for generating digital images and/or video.

In further exemplary embodiments, the I/O components 718 may includebiometric components 730, motion components 734, environmentalenvironment components 736, or position components 738, as well as awide array of other components. One or more of such components (orportions thereof) may collectively be referred to herein as a “sensorcomponent” or “sensor” for collecting various data related to themachine 700, the environment of the machine 700, a user of the machine700, or a combinations thereof.

For example, the biometric components 730 may include components todetect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocalexpressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measure biosignals (e.g.,blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, or brainwaves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinalidentification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, orelectroencephalogram based identification), and the like. The motioncomponents 734 may include acceleration sensor components (e.g.,accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, rotation sensorcomponents (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth. The environment components736 may include, for example, illumination sensor components (e.g.,photometer), temperature sensor components (e.g., one or morethermometer that detect ambient temperature), humidity sensorcomponents, pressure sensor components (e.g., barometer), acousticsensor components (e.g., one or more microphones that detect backgroundnoise), proximity sensor components (e.g., infrared sensors that detectnearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gas detection sensors to detectionconcentrations of hazardous gases for safety or to measure pollutants inthe atmosphere), or other components that may provide indications,measurements, or signals corresponding to a surrounding physicalenvironment. The position components 738 may include location sensorcomponents (e.g., a Global Position system (GPS) receiver component),altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detectair pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensorcomponents (e.g., magnetometers), and the like. For example, thelocation sensor component may provide location information associatedwith the system 700, such as the system's 700 GPS coordinates and/orinformation regarding a location the system 700 is at currently (e.g.,the name of a restaurant or other business).

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 718 may include communication components 740 operableto couple the machine 700 to a network 732 or devices 720 via coupling722 and coupling 724 respectively. For example, the communicationcomponents 740 may include a network interface component or othersuitable device to interface with the network 732. In further examples,communication components 740 may include wired communication components,wireless communication components, cellular communication components,Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g.,Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communicationcomponents to provide communication via other modalities. The devices720 may be another machine or any of a wide variety of peripheraldevices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a Universal Serial Bus(USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 740 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 740 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components740, such as, location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one ofA, B, and C,” “one or more A, B. or C,” or “one or more of A, B, and C”is used, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that Aalone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in anembodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that anycombination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a singleembodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and dataas described below and in the drawings that form a part of thisdocument: Copyright 2016, SNAPCHAT, INC. 2016, All Rights Reserved.

Changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. These andother changes or modifications are intended to be included within thescope of the present disclosure, as expressed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a processor; a userinterface coupled to the processor, the user interface comprising aninput device and a display screen; a sensor component coupled to theprocessor, the sensor component comprising a location sensor fordetermining location information associated with the system; and memorycoupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed bythe processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising:retrieving sensor information from the sensor component, the sensorinformation including location information from the location sensor;retrieving, from the memory, avatar information associated with a userof the system; generating a customized graphic based on the sensorinformation and the user's avatar information; and presenting thecustomized graphic within an electronic message via the display screenof the user interface.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the avatarinformation comprises one or more images associated with the user, andwherein generating the customized graphic includes incorporating atleast a portion of one or more of the images associated with the userwithin the customized graphic.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thesensor component comprises a biometric component for detecting a facialexpression of the user of the system, and wherein generating thecustomized graphic includes identifying a mood of the user based on thedetected facial expression and generating the customized graphic basedon the identified mood of the user.
 4. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a communication module coupled to the processor, whereingenerating the customized graphic includes: retrieving, over theInternet via the communication module, information associated with theuser from a social network; identifying a mood of the user based on theretrieved social network information; and generating the customizedgraphic based on the identified mood of the user.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein generating the customized graphic includes receivinginformation identifying a mood of the user via the input device of theuser interface and generating the customized graphic based on theidentified mood of the user.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein one ormore of the customized graphic and the electronic message aretemporarily presented using the display screen for a predeterminedperiod of time.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein generating thecustomized graphic is further based on one or more of: a current time ofday, a current date, and an event associated with the user identified bythe system from a calendar entry stored in the memory.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions for: receivingan edit to the customized graphic from the user via the input device ofthe user interface; and modifying the customized graphic based on thereceived edit, wherein the edit comprises one or more of: a text edit,and a graphic edit.
 9. The system of claim 1, further comprising acommunication module coupled to the processor, wherein the memoryfurther stores instructions for: retrieving, via the communicationmodule over the Internet, information regarding a contact of the user ofthe system associated with the electronic message, wherein theinformation for the contact includes avatar information associated withthe contact and a current mood of the contact; generating a customizedavatar image for the contact of the user based on the avatar informationassociated with the contact and a current mood of the contact; andpresenting the customized avatar image for the contact in conjunctionwith the electronic message via the display screen of the userinterface.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the customized avatarimage for the contact is selectable, and wherein the memory furtherstores instructions for: receiving, via the input device of the userinterface, a selection of the customized avatar image for the contact;in response to the selection of the customized avatar image for thecontact, generating a customized response image based on the currentmood of the contact; presenting the customized response image to theuser via the display screen of the user interface; and in response toselection of the customized response image by the user via the inputdevice of the user interface, transmitting the customized responseimage, via the communication module over the Internet to a computersystem associated with the contact.
 11. A computer-implemented methodcomprising: retrieving, by a computer system, sensor information from asensor component coupled to the computer system, the sensor componentcomprising a location sensor and the sensor information includinglocation information from the location sensor; retrieving, by thecomputer system from a memory coupled to the computer system, avatarinformation associated with a user of the computer system; generating,by the computer system, a customized graphic based on the sensorinformation and the user's avatar information; and presenting, by thecomputer system, the customized graphic within an electronic message viaa display screen of a user interface coupled to the computer system. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein the avatar information comprises one ormore images associated with the user, and wherein generating thecustomized graphic includes incorporating at least a portion of one ormore of the images associated with the user within the customizedgraphic.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor componentcomprises a biometric component for detecting a facial expression of theuser of the system, and wherein generating the customized graphicincludes identifying a mood of the user based on the detected facialexpression and generating the customized graphic based on the identifiedmood of the user.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein generating thecustomized graphic includes: retrieving, over the Internet via acommunication module coupled to the computer system, informationassociated with the user from a social network; identifying a mood ofthe user based on the retrieved social network information; andgenerating the customized graphic based on the identified mood of theuser.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the customizedgraphic includes receiving information identifying a mood of the uservia an input device of the user interface and generating the customizedgraphic based on the identified mood of the user.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein one or more of the customized graphic and theelectronic message are temporarily presented using the display screenfor a predetermined period of time.
 17. The method of claim 11, whereingenerating the customized graphic is further based on one or more of: acurrent time of day, a current date, and an event associated with theuser identified by the computer system from a calendar entry stored inthe memory.
 18. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving anedit to the customized graphic from the user via an input device of theuser interface; and modifying the customized graphic based on thereceived edit, wherein the edit comprises one or more of: a text edit,and a graphic edit.
 19. The method of claim 11, further comprising:retrieving, via a communication module coupled to the computer systemover the Internet, information regarding a contact of the user of thesystem associated with the electronic message, wherein the informationfor the contact includes avatar information associated with the contactand a current mood of the contact; generating a customized avatar imagefor the contact of the user based on the avatar information associatedwith the contact and a current mood of the contact; and presenting thecustomized avatar image for the contact in conjunction with theelectronic message via the display screen of the user interface.
 20. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a computer system, cause the computer system to performoperations comprising: retrieving, sensor information from a sensorcomponent coupled to the computer system, the sensor componentcomprising a location sensor and the sensor information includinglocation information from the location sensor; retrieving, from a memorycoupled to the computer system, avatar information associated with auser of the computer system; generating, customized graphic based on thesensor information and the user's avatar information; and presenting,the customized graphic within an electronic message via a display screenof a user interface coupled to the computer system.